Darwin, Australia

Darwin is in the Northern Territory of Australia: Crocodile country.

The ship offered a shuttle to the city center for $15 USD per person with a drop off at the Visitor’s center (VC). From outside the VC, independent tours were being sold for a crocodile experience and for the WWII experience. These tour operators allowed tourists to hold a boa constrictor and touch a crocodile. Hop-on/Hop-off (HOHO) Bus tours were sold outside the VC. (The humidity has really messed with my hair!)

OR….From the pier, one could veer to the right and walk to the conference center where there were some shops, restaurants, a small playground with some green space, and a water park with a wave pool. An elevator in one of the buildings led to a walkway and scenic overlook. If a person followed this walkway over the street below and crossed the street at the end of the walkway, a few blocks more would take him or her to the same visitor’s center as the ship shuttle. (Maybe a 20 min walk using this route)

Inside the VC, one could find Darwin City Maps and other brochures and tours.

OR, from just outside the port gates, a person could veer left to board a free shuttle that made a few stops around the conference center and shoreline (but did not go to the city center)

OR….do what we did. The HOHO bus had a stop just outside the port gate (next to the free shuttle stop). The HOHO can be seen just beyond the shrubs in the photo above and larger in the photo below.Below is a view of the port area from the ship. Cruisers walk through the metal cruise terminal building… and through a gift shop…. before going outside. This is the view of the ship and port area from the HOHO stop. The other people are lined up for the free waterfront shuttle. We purchased our tickets directly from the bus driver for $35 AUD each. First stop: Visitors Center. (We noticed others had a coupon/voucher, so it is likely that there might be a discount if pre-purchased online?) We saw the Parlaiment house. It is said that they call it the Wedding Cake because it is square layers filled with fruits and nuts!

The visitor’s center was very close to a pedestrian-only street lined with shopping and restaurants. ATM’s and public toilets can be found in this area.

After shopping, we re-boarded the HOHO bus which played a commentary during the 90 minute loop. A Stop was made at Crocosaurus Cove for a tourist crocodile experience, then we drove through Cullen Bay, an exclusive area with homes, a marina, restaurants, etc.

We passed the only remaining pre-WWII style homes left standing after the war.

Time to Hop- off. A nice surprise: admission is free at this museum! Loved the natural history displays with all the bird, sea life, and reptile specimens. One area was dedicated to Sweetheart, a massive crocodile whose name did not really fit his temperament. And I especially enjoyed the maritime area. The museum was near the shoreline, so I decided to look around a little until I saw this sign:Next stop was the Defence of Darwin Experience (and yes, this is how defense was spelled. It must be the European or Australian spelling). Evidences of WWII are here and scattered throughout Darwin.